October 30, 2026: Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) and the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) mourn the untimely passing of Terry Collingsworth, a pioneering human rights attorney and tireless advocate for workers, children, and vulnerable communities around the world.
Few individuals have had as profound and lasting an impact on the American labor movement as Dolores Huerta, the legendary labor organizer, civil rights activist, and champion of working families.
October 23, 2026: Washington, DC – At a time of mounting concern that gray-marketed injectable peptides carry severe risks to human health, the National Consumers League is raising alarm bells that an “interim access policy” poised to be issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow compounding pharmacies to make and sell six currently banned peptides – BPC-157, TB-500, KPV, MOTS-c, Epitalon, and Semax – despite FDA’s own scientists warning that the evidence behind these substances consists largely of small animal studies and laboratory experiments, not the rigorous testing Americans expect from the medicines they put into their bodies.
October 8, 2026: Washington, DC – A provision in the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the controlled substances list, creating a loophole in federal law that allowed the hemp industry to build a billion-dollar empire where manufacturers extract and concentrate intoxicating cannabinoids from hemp and market them in gummies, vapes, beverages, and other products. Using an addiction-for-profit model, these products are packaged with bright colors and candy-like branding that appeal to minors.
October 1, 2026: Washington, DC – Nobel Peace Laureate and global child rights advocate Kailash Satyarthi will join leaders in child labor advocacy, academia, diplomacy, and international development on Monday, October 5, for “Solving Global Child Labor with Compassion,” a public event hosted by the National Consumers League’s (NCL) Child Labor Coalition at American University’s School of International Service. Register here.
October 1, 2026: Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) will host its annual Trumpeter Awards Dinner on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. The evening begins with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m.
October 1, 2026: National Food Safety Education Month was established in 1994, a year after the deadly Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak sickened over 700 people and killed four children, making it the most infamous restaurant-associated foodborne illness crisis in U.S. history. Recognizing that foodborne illnesses affect one in six Americans annually, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations annually and more than 3,000 preventable deaths, every September the observance raises awareness of ways to prevent consumers from getting sick by eating contaminated food.
September 28, 2026: Washington, DC—On Friday, the National Consumers League, joined by 26 other public interest organizations, submitted comments in response to the Federal Trade commission’s (FTC) proposed policy regarding personalized pricing, also known as surveillance pricing. NCL supported the FTC’s position that failing to disclose personalized pricing likely violates the law. NCL also urged the FTC to hold businesses accountable for uses of personalized pricing that would seriously harm consumers even if disclosed.
September 28, 2026: Washington, DC— Today, the Trump administration released a final rule weakening federal fuel economy standards for cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs. The rule, dubbed “Freedom Means Affordable Cars,” lowers the fleet average fuel economy from 50.4 miles per gallon to 34.9 miles per gallon by model year 2031.
September 28, 2026: The American frontier between 1865 and 1890 was called the “Wild West” —a vast, untamed region lacking government control, formal infrastructure, and reliable law enforcement. It flourished during the gold rush when outlaws and vigilantes roamed freely.
The work of the National Consumers League is making a difference in people’s lives across the country. Meet some of the consumers touched by our programs.
Read about NCL’s impact
Paige, 55, a Nashville wife and mother of two, answered an employment ad for secret shoppers. Before sending payment to the scammers, she reached out to NCL.
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A grease fire flared up in Decklan’s kitchen. As his family scrambled and panicked, fearing that the whole house might erupt in flames, Decklan remained calm. He hurried over to the pantry, grabbed some baking soda, and dumped it on the fire quickly extinguishing the blaze.
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Cincinnati resident Charles, 45, lost his computer business — and health insurance— during a time of economic downturn. A diabetic, Charles was now unable to afford his medication. He stopped taking it which made him seriously ill and put his life at risk.
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Jeremy is a fast-food worker who has been employed at a number of Chipotle restaurants in New York City. When he was just 20 years old, he took part in an NCL research project that revealed that management practices within the fast food chain were putting workers—and food safety for customers—at risk.
Read about NCL’s impact
By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to hardship for all Americans, it is clear that people of color have been disproportionately burdened. Across the health care continuum, addressing this disparity has become part of the broader conversation about the history of systemic racism and the underlying social determinants of health that negatively affect the mental, physical, and economic health of individuals and entire communities.
The pandemic has underscored persistent health disparities, and there is growing recognition that representation in research and clinical trials can have a profound impact on health outcomes. A lack of representation from racially and ethnically diverse groups in research and clinical trials have typically led to gaps in data, missing the opportunity to assess the full impact of various treatments and drugs across a range of populations. The collection and use of real-world research and data to inform the potential use, risks, and benefits of medical products and treatments can ultimately lead to better health outcomes, particularly for those who have been underrepresented in the past.
Existing efforts to improve inclusion
Efforts to expand diversity and representation in medical research are underway in Congress. Policymakers are encouraging the incorporation of Real World Evidence (RWE) in drug development through the recent Cures 2.0 draft legislation released by Reps. Diana Degette (D-CO-1) and Fred Upton (D-MI-6). While the status quo limits us from effectively reaching underserved populations, the proposed legislation would allow studies that include RWE for some drugs after they have been approved. At the heart of this issue is a growing appreciation that the same therapy can affect different populations in different ways, which is why Cures 2.0 supports collecting data that more accurately reflects the unique experiences and needs of patients across diverse populations.
Recognizing the potential for RWE in maternal health
The lack of representative research in the field of maternal health is undeniable, and its implications are staggering. The dismal state of maternal care in the United States reflects how our health care system has failed women of color, including by not adequately studying treatment options to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality. The need for RWE is clear when you consider the persistent disparities in health outcomes that plague minority communities.
Preterm birth and its disproportionate impact on women of color is a stark illustration of the need to make progress on representative research in maternal health. Preterm birth is the second-largest contributor to infant death in America today. Despite the tremendous physical, emotional, and financial toll that preterm birth continues to take on our country — disproportionately so on women and families of color — not enough therapeutic tools currently exist to prevent it.
Today, “17P,” the only FDA-approved treatment to help reduce the likelihood of spontaneous, recurrent preterm birth in the United States is at-risk of being withdrawn from the market in all its forms, including the branded product and five generic versions. Unfortunately there is conflicting evidence from two different clinical trials, one representative of a diverse U.S. population and another studied in a largely white population in Europe. It’s not a straightforward comparison. If 17P is withdrawn, the women most affected by preterm birth, predominantly women of color, would be left without an FDA-approved treatment option.
The FDA is considering the path forward, including additional data collection through leveraging RWE from past patient use. The success of the first (approval) trial for 17P in the impacted communities signals the importance of RWE. Continued access to 17P is, at its core, a matter of health equity. Black women must not yet again be left vulnerable to a system that historically has overlooked them.
